'Galactica' promise isn't lost in space

July 15, 2005|By Maureen Ryan, Tribune staff reporter

Don't think of "Battlestar Galactica," which returns at 9 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi Channel, as a sci-fi show. Don't even think of it as "The Shield" in space, which is probably the handiest short description of the program.

"Battlestar Galactica," which returns with a typically stylish and provocative season opener, is probably the best example we have of faith-based television.

It was a leap of faith for Sci Fi to take a chance on this program, which follows the 50,000 human survivors of an attack by the mechanized Cylons, a race that can appear human and that was invented by humans.

But that faith was rewarded by viewers, who looked past the show's genre label to find a well-acted, rewarding drama. Viewers made "Battlestar" a hit for Sci Fi, and critics were converted as well.

"This is my fourth series, and I never dreamed the one that would hit would be science fiction," says Katee Sackhoff, who plays pilot Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. "That's surprising."

Not so surprising, when you figure that, in addition to supplying plenty of action, meaty stories and smart characterizations, the show confronts the big issues of the day -- our day -- faith and God among them.

The survivors of the Cylon attack, who are searching for the birthplace of mankind while trying to avoid annihilation, have to figure out how to govern themselves now that all their institutions and leaders have been blown up and threats loom within their own society. They have to figure out what they believe -- in their own polytheistic faith, or in the "one true God" of the Cylons, who are quite spiritually inclined for a race of ruthless killers.

And all this philosophical exploration does not happen on a clean, tastefully decorated starship (credit must go to production designer Richard Hudolin and director of photography Stephen McNutt for making everything on "Battlestar" look so wonderfully beat-up).

As the season begins, the head of the fleet, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos), is covered in blood, after being shot by a Cylon who had been cloned to look like a member of Adama's crew. The increasingly tough president, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), is in a grimy cell, after she and Adama clashed over who was in charge of the battered Galactica fleet.

And Col. Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan), Adama's right-hand man and a closet drinker, is covered in sweat, trying to figure out how he's going to save the fleet now that the Cylons have found it again.

"The realistic basis of this [show] -- that's what makes it different," Olmos said from the show's Vancouver set. "You can relate to it on a visceral level. It just feels gritty. It feels like it's happening right now. That's what really made it come alive for a lot of people."

And nobody pretends to have all the answers. "There's a scene coming up where [Starbuck] has her gun drawn, but she just sits there," says Sackhoff, whose character is trapped on a Cylon-occupied planet with a fellow pilot, Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, who turns out to be a Cylon. "[Starbuck] doesn't know who to put the gun on in the moment. She's the one person we've seen very trigger-happy and very outspoken about killing Cylons, but she doesn't know what to do."

But it'd be unfair to paint "Battlestar" as only an exploration of philosophical dilemmas, because it's mostly about believable people in extreme situations. As "Chief" Galen Tyrol, Aaron Douglas is the personification of the capable enlisted man who has no time for bungling officers. As Gaius Baltar, the scientist who got humanity into this mess by consorting with a hot blond Cylon, James Callis is a twitchy, lustful delight.

Trouble looms for the "Battlestar" fleet. Because Boomer is pregnant.

For full interviews with four "Battlestar Galactica" actors, go to ChicagoTribune.com/watcher.